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Muhammad Ali, legendary boxing champ, dies at age 74

Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight boxing legend regarded by many as “The Greatest of All Time”, has passed away according to a statement from his family. He was 74. Ali had been hospitalized several times in recent years, most recently in early 2015 when he was treated for a severe urinary tract infection initially diagnosed as pneumonia. […]

Fox Sports

June 4, 2016 5:00 pm

Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight boxing legend regarded by many as “The Greatest of All Time”, has passed away according to a statement from his family. He was 74.

Muhammad Ali. (BBC News)

Ali had been hospitalized several times in recent years, most recently in early 2015 when he was treated for a severe urinary tract infection initially diagnosed as pneumonia.

The three‑time heavyweight champion also had battled Parkinson’s disease since 1984.

His last formal public appearance before that was in October when he appeared at the Sports Illustrated Tribute to Muhammad Ali at “The Muhammad Ali Center” in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, along with former opponents George Foreman and Larry Holmes.

Ali suffered from Parkinson’s for three decades, most famously trembling badly while lighting the Olympic torch in 1996 in Atlanta.

Despite the disease, he kept up a busy appearance schedule until recently, though he had not spoken in public for years.

Doctors say the Parkinson’s likely was caused by the thousands of punches Ali took during a career in which he traveled the world for big fights.